October 13, 2025 • 26 mins
Journalists from around the state discuss the news of the week with host Bill Bryant, including the announcement of a new Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Panelists: Alex Acquisto, Lexington Herald-Leader; Mario Anderson, Spectrum News 1; and Isaiah Kim-Martinez, WHAS11 in Louisville.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:10):
>> The early release of a
Kentucky prison inmate leads to
outrage and calls for change.
Kentucky's U.S. Senate race
gets another shakeup as Amy
McGrath, the Democratic nominee
from 2020, enters next year's
race. Governor Beshear travels
to the early presidential
primary state of New Hampshire.
The 2026 legislative session
(00:32):
comes into view. Childcare, AI,
and lobbying by school
districts. Among the topics
getting attention, it finally
looks and feels like fall and
comment is next on KET. Good
(00:53):
evening, I'm Bill Bryant and we
welcome you to comment on
Kentucky, a look back at and
some analysis of the week's
news in the Commonwealth and
the guests on our panel of
working Kentucky journalists
tonight are Isaiah Kim Martinez,
senior reporter for Whas 11 in
Louisville. Alex Acquisto,
(01:13):
politics and health reporter
for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
And Mario Anderson, anchor and
host of InFocus Kentucky on
Spectrum News one. Let's jump
right into the week's events
that thrust Kentucky into the
national spotlight. Ronald
Exantus, who stabbed a six year
old boy to death in 2015, in
Versailles, was released from
(01:34):
prison under a loophole in
Kentucky law. Kentucky parole
Board members who had nothing
to do with the release have
been receiving threats. Alex
Exantus admitted to killing the
child, but was found not guilty
of that by reason of insanity.
He was convicted of assaulting
other family members, but his
release has certainly set off a
(01:55):
firestorm, right.
>> And he qualified for early
release, as you said, not
because the parole board
granted it to him, but because
of a loophole in the law that
allows for he was eligible for
what's called mandatory
supervised release, essentially
because of good time behavior,
completed work and education,
and which means that it made
(02:16):
him eligible within six months
of his prison sentence
completion. Now, ideally, that
that exists in the law as an
incentive, typically for people
who commit nonviolent crimes.
Obviously he committed a
violent crime. And so he he
became eligible. And obviously
he was released even though he
was rearrested again. And it
(02:37):
has really set off a firestorm
of concern around how this
could happen in the first place.
>> And the statute bill for
that supervised release program
is actually very nuanced. If
this man, in this case, Ronald
Exantus, excuse me, was
convicted of murder, he would
not have even qualified for
this program. It was because
(02:59):
specifically, he was found not
guilty of murder because of
reason of insanity. He was
found guilty of these assaults.
That discrepancy allowed this
program to play in. I do want
to mention, though, that was
simply six months early. The
majority of his years that were
taken off the table were
because some of the credits
that he built both of time
before trial, good behavior,
(03:20):
some of his educational credits
he had while incarcerated. So
if folks out there have issues
with this specific case and how
it played out, it is with like
we had talked about before the
show, the judicial system and
some of the statutes as a whole,
rather than the parole board's
decision.
>> He went to Florida, Mario,
and then was arrested again.
>> That's right. According to
(03:41):
the state law in Florida, he
was supposed to have registered
as a felon within 48 hours of
being in the state. And the
sheriff's office there in
Marion County. They said that
he failed to do that. So they
picked him up at his residence
where he was at and arrested
him. And he's currently waiting
for his next steps. But the
attorney general there in
Florida said that they're
(04:02):
working to send him back to
Kentucky. And we're trying to
figure out what that means.
>> Does his arrest there mean
that the conditions of his
release here have been violated?
>> That's the question. We've
actually been reaching out to
the Public Safety and Justice
cabinet here in the state,
trying to get an answer as far
as because we know in Florida,
there was an issue with whether
he registered as a felon. When
(04:23):
he got there. The sheriff's
office says, no, he didn't do
it within two days. What does
that mean for when he comes
back? Does he go right back to
prison? What does that look
like? At this point, we have
not received an answer.
>> As we noted, Isaiah, it's
the parole board that's been
getting these threats, even
though, again, they took no
vote on this. Right.
>> They actually unanimously
(04:44):
bill voted to.
>> Vote to keep him
incarcerated.
>> And they basically said
again that it was because of
the statute, specifically
because of the way Kentucky law
works, that he was released.
They believed he should still
be in prison today. But of
course, he was released just a
few days ago. And in this
political landscape, it's
important to say we talk a lot
(05:05):
about political violence. And
we've heard from board members.
I actually talked to the board
chair over the phone today, and
it was not lost on anybody.
These threats, according to the
board members here, are direct.
We're talking text messages.
We're talking phone calls, and
some of them even racially
charged. So this is this is
serious. And I don't think
(05:26):
anybody you talk to will say
the threats are okay.
>> Well, the governor had this
to say about those threats.
>> They were trying to do what
you wanted them to do. They
made the decision the way that
you claim that they should have.
And the only there's just no
(05:48):
acceptable. Reason to ever
threaten another human being
with violence. And these people
do a hard job on the parole
board. They shouldn't be
subject to, to to these types
of threats being made at them.
>> And I want to be clear,
again, that the parole board
voted to keep Exantus in prison
(06:09):
here in Kentucky. But, Mario,
these threats now are being
investigated as crimes.
>> That's right. And the
governor mentioned during that
team Kentucky update that he
believes it stems from a lot of
misinformation about this case,
again, being spread on social
media. But he did say that
Kentucky State Police and FBI,
they are the ones that are
heading this up to look more
into what's being alleged and
(06:30):
the text messages, and they
will determine the next steps.
>> Well, some lawmakers now
want to change or tweak the law.
State Representative Jason
Nemus is one who's promising
some discussion of this when
the session begins in January.
>> And he has mentioned to
again, if he were not convicted
today, he would not have
(06:50):
qualified for this loophole.
You know, mandatory supervised
release. Again, it it works for
some people, and it has been
supported by Republicans in the
legislature because, again,
it's meant for people who
commit nonviolent crimes as an
incentive for good behavior to
lessen your sentence. But we
also have people like
representative TJ Roberts from
(07:11):
northern Kentucky vowing to
file a bill to do away with it
completely again, calling it a
gross miscarriage of injustice.
And of course, we heard white
House Press Secretary Caroline
Leavitt to mention how it's
wholly unacceptable. So I think
we will we should expect to see
bills at least a few to this
end, trying to sort of rein in
what has happened so that it
(07:33):
doesn't happen again.
>> And to Alex's point,
Representative Nemus, of course,
was a co-sponsor on the Safer
Kentucky Act, which at this
point, like Alex mentioned, if
this man was essentially
sentenced and was in prison
right now because of the
offenses he was convicted of,
he would have had to serve at
least 85% of his sentence,
(07:53):
which would have put him
somewhere around 17, 17.5 years,
as opposed to the seven and
change that he served up until
October 1st.
>> Yeah. Well, clearly a
developing story that we'll
continue to follow the U.S.
Senate race now as we move to
politics has gotten more
crowded. Primaries on both
sides now and crowded ones this
week, former fighter pilot Amy
(08:15):
McGrath, who ran for the U.S.
Senate in 2020, jumped into the
2020 race.
>> You deserve a senator who
acts with decency and
patriotism, who believes in the
goodness and the promise of
America. This open Kentucky
seat will decide the balance of
power in the Senate. The stakes
are high. We all need to step
(08:37):
up and act with courage to meet
this moment.
>> The first observation I made
was that that is a much more
stark announcement video
compared to her high production
commercials of 2020, when she
was on aircraft carriers and
used fighter jets and, you know,
(08:57):
very fancy ads, then.
>> This was certainly simpler,
right? Dark room, just the
chair. And I believe her line
right at the top is no slogans,
no gimmicks, no BS. I mean,
she's run a race before, she
probably feels, and I think
it's fair to say she doesn't
have to introduce herself to
Kentucky as much. I think most
folks, even Democrats, might
(09:19):
ask, well, how is your campaign
going to be different this time
around? And I know she's sort
of given different answers, or
I guess, the same answer to
most folks who have interviewed
her. But it's been a lot of how
the climate has changed. She
has said less, I believe,
outside of maybe some of her
policy priorities as it relates
to tariffs, how she will
approach this race differently.
>> Yeah, you're exactly right.
(09:40):
She's kind of limited her
conversations to talking about
tariffs and also her opposition
to President Donald Trump and
his leadership style and use of
executive power. But she hasn't
gotten into the weeds just yet
of, you know, day one
priorities. If she was elected
as a U.S. Senator.
>> And if I had to guess, I
would say that she because
she's she's sort of presenting
herself as a common sense
(10:01):
Democrat, which is why I think
we saw that pared down video
from her. I think she's going
to try and stick to these sort
of meat and potato issues,
especially as the other people,
Republicans certainly, you know,
this is she's in the Democratic
primary, but if she wins the
Democratic primary, the other
Republicans right now are all
sort of vying for Trump's
support. There's a lot of focus
on social wedge issues. And,
(10:22):
you know, in 2020, when she ran
against Mitch McConnell, her
campaign had a lot of momentum.
She raised, what, almost $100
million historic amount. She
still lost by 20 percentage
points. Obviously, Trump has
won again in Kentucky since
then, but his popularity has
fallen to. And so she's trying
to appeal to this voter of
(10:43):
maybe I voted for Trump, but
I'm dissatisfied with him and
you can count on me to bring
common sense.
>> It's interesting, though,
when I did ask her, do you see
yourself as more of a moderate
or progressive Democrat in
today's climate? She wouldn't
answer that question. I believe
she had told other outlets
she's a common sense Democrat.
Like, where have we heard that
before? I mean, it was
impossible for me to ignore
(11:04):
interviewing her how much she
sort of had a similar message.
From what we've heard from the
governor recently, Governor
Beshear. And that's at least in
this line about the tariffs.
You know, she says voters
didn't think when they were
voting for President Trump that
they'd be voting for higher
prices. They thought they were
voting for lower prices. Her
words, of course, we've heard
(11:24):
the governor say that a lot. By
the way, I did ask her what her
number one policy priority
would be if elected. And she
did say repealing tariffs.
>> Well, Mario, you and I
interviewed McGrath as well
about her announcement. At one
of the questions I asked her
was, how do you win in Kentucky?
By criticizing President Trump,
who carried the state by 30
points. And and she said to
Alex's point, she says that
(11:45):
voters are not getting what
they voted for.
>> Yeah, that's right. That's
why she, again, is again
transitioning her message to
talk about some of these
national issues, the current
day of events that's going on.
She's doing a lot of commentary
on the Department of Defense
and the restructuring there.
That's from Pete Hegseth, the
secretary. With her military
experience, she can be able to
speak towards that. She's
(12:06):
hoping that that message will
resonate with voters and
hopefully, you know, have her
have them join her campaign and
support.
>> It was interesting. She gave
credit to the Democratic field
in your interview about that,
about the Democratic candidates
having a military or law
enforcement service.
>> Me about the primary on both
sides is that on the Democratic
(12:27):
side, all of the candidates
have served their country. All
of the candidates come from,
you know, Secret Service, CIA,
United States Air Force, United
States Marine Corps, and all
the candidates on the other
side have served themselves and
have served, you know, in this
political arena their whole
(12:48):
lives.
>> Mario McGrath in 2020 had to
outlast Charles Booker in the
primary. And that was a tough
primary. But this time it has,
as I said to her, you allowed
it to get crowded.
>> That's right. And again the
the filing deadline still until
January the 1st Friday in
January. So plenty of time for
some other people to step up.
(13:10):
But yes, she's very supportive
of of Pamela Stephenson, who
first declared her intent for
this race, but also Logan
Forsythe and Joel Willett there,
the three other candidates that
have jumped into this race
before her, and they've got
varied experience in the
military, and she's remaining
positive to her primary
candidates as of today.
>> History and math favor
(13:30):
Republicans in the race. No
Democrat has won a Kentucky
U.S. Senate race since Wendell
Ford's last victory in 1992,
and Republican registration is
also gaining while Democrats
are losing ground. We will
point out the fastest growing
segment is actually independent,
but the GOP is gaining ahead of
the 2026 primary. Isaiah, do
you read anything when you see
(13:52):
those numbers with the
registration right now?
>> Well, I think the results
have sort of shown itself, Bill.
I mean, we've seen Republicans
get elected across the board.
They certainly see this Senate
race as a bit of a shoo in for
Republicans. They probably see
the May primary as the general
election, essentially. But like
you mentioned, I mean,
(14:12):
independents are growing, and
there is no doubt that folks on
both sides are making sure that
they don't alienate the
independent vote, despite the
fact that Kentucky has been so
ruby red recently.
>> And I'll add to, you know,
the May primary independents
can't vote in that primary. So
that 11% electorate there, but
both sides will have to cater
to their current bases. And it
makes it more difficult because
(14:33):
Kentucky is known for having
low voter turnout during a
primary in May. And we've
talked about if there's bad
weather that could impact it as
well.
>> But 11 points can sure throw
a general election, right?
>> I just wonder too, like when
there you have similar
backgrounds, right? We talk
about the Republicans all sort
of, you know, talking about
Donald Trump so much. It's hard
to distinguish yourself when
(14:53):
you have so many Democrats who
all sort of have this law
enforcement serving your
country background. If you're
in a primary, how do you
distinguish yourself that way?
I mean, that could be a real
challenge.
>> We always watch the money
chase at this point, and some
of those reports have come in
now. Specifically for the
Senate.
>> In the Senate, and I believe
we were talking about this
(15:14):
before the show. Congressman
Andy Barr, not a complete
surprise because he's a sitting
member in Congress, but $1.8
million in this last
fundraising quarter. We know
that both the Cameron campaign
and the Morris campaign have
not released those numbers as
of yet, but clearly pretty
notable on Barr's side.
>> Yeah. And Andy Barr, he's
(15:34):
his team is very confident in
their standing. So they put it
out quickly to let people know
across the state that they are
having no trouble raising money
in three months. And the other
two candidates, they are
keeping quiet until it's
officially posted.
>> Nate Morris's folks did say,
though, that they would let me
know next week about some of
their numbers. So we'll look
out for those.
>> And because Barr is running
for the Senate, he's leaving
(15:55):
the sixth district seat open.
Republican Ralph Alvarado
amassing a war chest that seems
to be outpacing the others
early on.
>> Believe the numbers at
380,000 for him. And then, of
course, we're seeing Zach Dembo
on the other side. The former
federal prosecutor on for the
Democrats, I believe. What is
that at 290,000. So those are
the biggest numbers we've seen
(16:16):
as far as the sixth district to
this point, at least in the
last quarter.
>> Yeah. And pretty large
numbers for congressional race.
You typically don't see that in
a three month period. That
could be sometimes what they
get over the course of the
primary campaign.
>> So and they got in July.
>> They got in in July. So and
and then the front loader
proceed front leaning candidate
Sherrilyn Stevenson, she had
some good numbers the first
(16:36):
quarter. But we'll see what
she's been able to raise the
last three months.
>> All right. And then you
remind yourselves that some of
the candidates can self-fund,
you know. And so we'll watch
watch that as well. All right.
Governor Beshear happened to be
in New Hampshire this week,
which happens to be one of the
first Democratic presidential
primary states of 2028. Alex
Beshear has also been to South
(16:57):
Carolina. And he tells voters
in places like that that he's
there to help Democrats.
>> He is the incoming chair of
the Democratic Governors
Association. So his role in
that is to help Democrats win
in these statewide seats all
over the country. Now, he
hasn't confirmed this. Yes. But
yet. But traveling around the
(17:17):
country can also serve the dual
purpose of getting your name
and face out there, too. If you
have a plan to run for higher
office, which we don't know yet
if he does, but it sort of dual
purpose. But yes, he is
traveling and sort of making
the rounds and also continuing
to be governor of Kentucky to
kind of have a foot in both.
>> There was a trip out of
(17:38):
state, out going to Europe on a
business trip next week.
>> London, Dublin, Paris. I
mean, he left his team,
Kentucky, basically being like,
see you in two weeks. He'll
have a lot of good news when I
get back on the New Hampshire
front. I mean, he's he's been
there recently. Before he's had
sort of impacts or has tried to
through his end this together
pack on I believe it was their
(17:59):
last gubernatorial election, if
I'm not mistaken, in New
Hampshire. And it's very likely
he'll be back. We know that
he's sort of trying to share
his vision for the future. He
actually will be in Nebraska
less than a month from now,
side by side with the former
president, Joe Biden, who we
have not seen a lot of since he
left office.
>> Yeah, so should be
(18:20):
interesting with both former
President Biden and Governor
Andy Beshear side by side on
the promotional materials. So
that's telling in itself. And
again, ultimately, they're
raising money for the local
Democrats in Nebraska. And and
Beshear having a hand in that.
>> And Alex Beshear then
returned to Kentucky and
returned to his push for
universal pre-K this week. Does
(18:41):
he have to keep a visible
agenda in state as well,
especially in the run up to the
legislative session, to be
relevant here while he explores
things elsewhere?
>> Right. Obviously he cannot
run for governor again, but you
don't want to completely
abandon your state either. And
so, yes, his through line
through his whole time in
office has been universal pre-K.
(19:02):
And this is maybe reading the
tea leaves too much. But, you
know, Lieutenant Governor
Jacqueline Coleman has also
been a major proponent of
universal pre-K. Potentially
she could run for governor, too,
and he could sort of be setting
her up to sort of keep pushing
this idea out there. Now,
obviously, he's never gotten
the funding for universal pre-K.
Senate President Robert Stivers,
a Republican, is a known critic
(19:22):
of universal pre-K, but he's
still trying to make it known
that this thing matters to him
in Kentucky, and he wants to
see it done.
>> Mario, you talked to some
folks about childcare issues,
another issue percolating ahead
of the of the 2026 session.
>> That's right. Several
interviews, including with the
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce,
who advocates for the business
(19:43):
community across the state. And
they are advocating pretty
strongly, saying that this
coming session, childcare,
they're wanting to help address
some of the gaps across our
state. It's well documented
that access to childcare is not
viable for every Kentuckian,
and they actually are sharing
that. They want to say it's not
just a family issue, it's a
workforce and growth strategy
(20:03):
for Kentucky's economy. So
since they've got a very strong
sway with a lot of legislators,
you can anticipate that being a
top priority or item for some
of the lawmakers.
>> AI got a lot of discussion
this week as well. And then
State Representative Vanessa
Grosso of the Lexington area
wants to draft legislation for
the session that would say that
school districts cannot employ
(20:24):
third party lobbyists. It got
her attention that Fayette
County hired lobbyists to
represent its interests in
Frankfort.
>> And she says that she plans
to file this bill pretty
quickly once the session starts.
And she again, it's based off
of Fayette County Public
Schools and the issues that
they've had over the last
several months with
transparency. But there's been
talks that Fayette County,
(20:44):
they've invested a firm that
works on PR and kind of
management of the image of the
district, and she feels that
that's not a good idea, using
taxpayer dollars to have a
third party lobbyist group to
be a part of that process.
>> The federal government
shutdown continues. We're
seeing more impacts, certainly
more concerns in Kentucky. Many
federal employees are working
(21:05):
without a paycheck at this
point. Isaiah, that a difficult
circumstance, certainly.
>> And I think we'll we'll
watch to see how the airline
travel changes as we go on. I
would say the big issue right
now, especially from some
Republicans, I heard from
Congressman Brett Guthrie being
one, are these next paychecks
for members of the military?
(21:25):
Specifically? He mentioned Fort
Knox, which is in his district,
an Army installation where he
says they are due to be paid or
were due to be paid October
15th. That's coming up. If the
government doesn't open before
then, they'll be without that
money, which he says will be
very rough for them.
>> The Louisville political
scene seems to be buzzing right
now, certainly ahead of the
(21:46):
filing deadline. The first ever
nonpartisan mayor's race is
coming, and you're hearing some
things there.
>> Yeah. Charles Booker is a
name that keeps being thrown
around. Nobody's denying that
he could potentially be
interested in that. He's sort
of feeling out where he would
get his his fundraising dollars
from. But, I mean, the mayor
sort of in full force at this
(22:07):
point. We see him at a lot of
events actively touting what
he's done over the last three
years. And of course, we have
this special election for the
for the Senate bill, of course,
David Yates's district that
will come open his seat because
he is now the acting Jefferson
County clerk after the passing
of Bobbie Holsclaw, the
Secretary of State, Michael
Adams just announced that will
(22:28):
be on December 16th. And I'm
already hearing names on both
sides of who could potentially
run. Casa Grande is the name of
an activist in Louisville who I
believe, based on what I'm
hearing, could have some
interest on the Democrat side.
And then State Representative
Jared Bauman of Louisville
potentially could have interest
on the Republican side. Of
course, he has been very active
in this sort of tough on crime
(22:49):
mentality with the safer
Kentucky Act.
>> Attorney General Russell
Coleman announced this week
that he is suing the online
gaming platform Roblox. He
called it an online environment
where child predators thrive.
>> Like many parents, I thought
Roblox is a safe choice, but I
came to realize later than I
would like to admit that it
actually is the wild west of
(23:10):
the internet targeted at
children.
>> Here is my message to
parents. Get your kids off
Roblox. Do it today.
>> Alex Coleman is adamant that
this platform is trouble for
kids.
>> Yeah, he called it a hunting
ground for child predators.
It's a very popular, I think,
(23:31):
there. You know, usage number
is in the hundreds of millions.
And I think one of the problems
is that you can essentially
access it, use it without
parental consent if you're a
minor. And so he's trying to
crack down on that by suing it,
essentially saying that he's
alleging that Kentucky's
Consumer Protection Protection
Act fails to warn parents of
(23:53):
the dangers of it. And, of
course, he cited, too, in his
press release. And in that
press conference, you know,
there's a 25 year old man in
Kentucky who pled guilty
earlier this year to plotting
to extort, threaten minors. You
know, across these gaming
entertainment platforms. And
Roblox was one of the ones that
he used. And so this is an easy
(24:14):
way for him to say, we're going
to sue this platform because of
these heinous things, the
potential for child grooming.
And it's a concrete thing that
he can point to to say, I'm
trying to, you know, work on
your behalf as attorney general.
>> Seems to be an area of
emphasis for him, isn't it?
>> Certainly. And especially
issues where you could
literally walk into any like a
Walgreens or CVS and you see
(24:36):
gift cards for Roblox. So this
is something that every family
sees, and that's something that
the attorney general clearly is
focused on.
>> And Roblox, they did issue a
statement saying that they
believe the lawsuit is based on
outdated and out of context
information. So we'll see how
the lawsuit plays out over the
next several months.
>> And I think the attorney
general has said other states
(24:57):
may also file suit. So that is
something you see from time to
time, as well as several states.
Get involved in an issue. Alex,
you're part of a major
announcement this week
involving the Herald-Leader and
ProPublica. What does that mean?
>> ProPublica is a national,
nonprofit, online only news
outlet, and they partner with
local newsrooms a couple every
(25:18):
year so that a reporter or
reporters can work on a bigger
investigation. They wouldn't
have time to work on just in
the daily grind. And so they
chose the Herald-Leader and me
and my colleague Taylor six,
which means we get to work on
investigation for a year on
something in Kentucky. And so
that's very exciting. I'll be
off of my politics beat for a
bit and fully embedded in this
story, which is great.
(25:40):
>> You're saying there will be
one story?
>> No, there'll be multiple.
It'll be a sort of a series. 4
to 6 is the ideal. So there'll
be multiple about the same
topic.
>> Yeah. All right. Well that's
interesting new approach. What
we do want to congratulate
Kentucky's teacher of the year
Michelle Gross is a middle
school teacher in Spencer
County. She teaches math and
(26:00):
also runs a gifted and talented
program, where students get to
pick an area to dig deeper into.
They all enjoy that. Gross has
22 years of teaching experience.
She was among nine educators
honored, and the Education
Commissioner, Robbie Fletcher,
called it a day of celebration.
And on a warm and sunny day,
Keeneland last week got rolling
(26:21):
and they had a big day out
there again today. So as the
weather's good, the horses keep
running, the crowds keep
showing up. That's common on
Kentucky. Have a good week
ahead.
>> The early release of a
Kentucky prison inmate leads to
outrage and calls for change.
Kentucky's U.S. Senate race
gets another shakeup as Amy
McGrath, the Democratic nominee
from 2020, enters next year's
race. Governor Beshear travels
to the early presidential
primary state of New Hampshire.
The 2026 legislative session
(00:32):
comes into view. Childcare, AI,
and lobbying by school
districts. Among the topics
getting attention, it finally
looks and feels like fall and
comment is next on KET. Good
(00:53):
evening, I'm Bill Bryant and we
welcome you to comment on
Kentucky, a look back at and
some analysis of the week's
news in the Commonwealth and
the guests on our panel of
working Kentucky journalists
tonight are Isaiah Kim Martinez,
senior reporter for Whas 11 in
Louisville. Alex Acquisto,
(01:13):
politics and health reporter
for the Lexington Herald-Leader.
And Mario Anderson, anchor and
host of InFocus Kentucky on
Spectrum News one. Let's jump
right into the week's events
that thrust Kentucky into the
national spotlight. Ronald
Exantus, who stabbed a six year
old boy to death in 2015, in
Versailles, was released from
(01:34):
prison under a loophole in
Kentucky law. Kentucky parole
Board members who had nothing
to do with the release have
been receiving threats. Alex
Exantus admitted to killing the
child, but was found not guilty
of that by reason of insanity.
He was convicted of assaulting
other family members, but his
release has certainly set off a
(01:55):
firestorm, right.
>> And he qualified for early
release, as you said, not
because the parole board
granted it to him, but because
of a loophole in the law that
allows for he was eligible for
what's called mandatory
supervised release, essentially
because of good time behavior,
completed work and education,
and which means that it made
(02:16):
him eligible within six months
of his prison sentence
completion. Now, ideally, that
that exists in the law as an
incentive, typically for people
who commit nonviolent crimes.
Obviously he committed a
violent crime. And so he he
became eligible. And obviously
he was released even though he
was rearrested again. And it
(02:37):
has really set off a firestorm
of concern around how this
could happen in the first place.
>> And the statute bill for
that supervised release program
is actually very nuanced. If
this man, in this case, Ronald
Exantus, excuse me, was
convicted of murder, he would
not have even qualified for
this program. It was because
(02:59):
specifically, he was found not
guilty of murder because of
reason of insanity. He was
found guilty of these assaults.
That discrepancy allowed this
program to play in. I do want
to mention, though, that was
simply six months early. The
majority of his years that were
taken off the table were
because some of the credits
that he built both of time
before trial, good behavior,
(03:20):
some of his educational credits
he had while incarcerated. So
if folks out there have issues
with this specific case and how
it played out, it is with like
we had talked about before the
show, the judicial system and
some of the statutes as a whole,
rather than the parole board's
decision.
>> He went to Florida, Mario,
and then was arrested again.
>> That's right. According to
(03:41):
the state law in Florida, he
was supposed to have registered
as a felon within 48 hours of
being in the state. And the
sheriff's office there in
Marion County. They said that
he failed to do that. So they
picked him up at his residence
where he was at and arrested
him. And he's currently waiting
for his next steps. But the
attorney general there in
Florida said that they're
(04:02):
working to send him back to
Kentucky. And we're trying to
figure out what that means.
>> Does his arrest there mean
that the conditions of his
release here have been violated?
>> That's the question. We've
actually been reaching out to
the Public Safety and Justice
cabinet here in the state,
trying to get an answer as far
as because we know in Florida,
there was an issue with whether
he registered as a felon. When
(04:23):
he got there. The sheriff's
office says, no, he didn't do
it within two days. What does
that mean for when he comes
back? Does he go right back to
prison? What does that look
like? At this point, we have
not received an answer.
>> As we noted, Isaiah, it's
the parole board that's been
getting these threats, even
though, again, they took no
vote on this. Right.
>> They actually unanimously
(04:44):
bill voted to.
>> Vote to keep him
incarcerated.
>> And they basically said
again that it was because of
the statute, specifically
because of the way Kentucky law
works, that he was released.
They believed he should still
be in prison today. But of
course, he was released just a
few days ago. And in this
political landscape, it's
important to say we talk a lot
(05:05):
about political violence. And
we've heard from board members.
I actually talked to the board
chair over the phone today, and
it was not lost on anybody.
These threats, according to the
board members here, are direct.
We're talking text messages.
We're talking phone calls, and
some of them even racially
charged. So this is this is
serious. And I don't think
(05:26):
anybody you talk to will say
the threats are okay.
>> Well, the governor had this
to say about those threats.
>> They were trying to do what
you wanted them to do. They
made the decision the way that
you claim that they should have.
And the only there's just no
(05:48):
acceptable. Reason to ever
threaten another human being
with violence. And these people
do a hard job on the parole
board. They shouldn't be
subject to, to to these types
of threats being made at them.
>> And I want to be clear,
again, that the parole board
voted to keep Exantus in prison
(06:09):
here in Kentucky. But, Mario,
these threats now are being
investigated as crimes.
>> That's right. And the
governor mentioned during that
team Kentucky update that he
believes it stems from a lot of
misinformation about this case,
again, being spread on social
media. But he did say that
Kentucky State Police and FBI,
they are the ones that are
heading this up to look more
into what's being alleged and
(06:30):
the text messages, and they
will determine the next steps.
>> Well, some lawmakers now
want to change or tweak the law.
State Representative Jason
Nemus is one who's promising
some discussion of this when
the session begins in January.
>> And he has mentioned to
again, if he were not convicted
today, he would not have
(06:50):
qualified for this loophole.
You know, mandatory supervised
release. Again, it it works for
some people, and it has been
supported by Republicans in the
legislature because, again,
it's meant for people who
commit nonviolent crimes as an
incentive for good behavior to
lessen your sentence. But we
also have people like
representative TJ Roberts from
(07:11):
northern Kentucky vowing to
file a bill to do away with it
completely again, calling it a
gross miscarriage of injustice.
And of course, we heard white
House Press Secretary Caroline
Leavitt to mention how it's
wholly unacceptable. So I think
we will we should expect to see
bills at least a few to this
end, trying to sort of rein in
what has happened so that it
(07:33):
doesn't happen again.
>> And to Alex's point,
Representative Nemus, of course,
was a co-sponsor on the Safer
Kentucky Act, which at this
point, like Alex mentioned, if
this man was essentially
sentenced and was in prison
right now because of the
offenses he was convicted of,
he would have had to serve at
least 85% of his sentence,
(07:53):
which would have put him
somewhere around 17, 17.5 years,
as opposed to the seven and
change that he served up until
October 1st.
>> Yeah. Well, clearly a
developing story that we'll
continue to follow the U.S.
Senate race now as we move to
politics has gotten more
crowded. Primaries on both
sides now and crowded ones this
week, former fighter pilot Amy
(08:15):
McGrath, who ran for the U.S.
Senate in 2020, jumped into the
2020 race.
>> You deserve a senator who
acts with decency and
patriotism, who believes in the
goodness and the promise of
America. This open Kentucky
seat will decide the balance of
power in the Senate. The stakes
are high. We all need to step
(08:37):
up and act with courage to meet
this moment.
>> The first observation I made
was that that is a much more
stark announcement video
compared to her high production
commercials of 2020, when she
was on aircraft carriers and
used fighter jets and, you know,
(08:57):
very fancy ads, then.
>> This was certainly simpler,
right? Dark room, just the
chair. And I believe her line
right at the top is no slogans,
no gimmicks, no BS. I mean,
she's run a race before, she
probably feels, and I think
it's fair to say she doesn't
have to introduce herself to
Kentucky as much. I think most
folks, even Democrats, might
(09:19):
ask, well, how is your campaign
going to be different this time
around? And I know she's sort
of given different answers, or
I guess, the same answer to
most folks who have interviewed
her. But it's been a lot of how
the climate has changed. She
has said less, I believe,
outside of maybe some of her
policy priorities as it relates
to tariffs, how she will
approach this race differently.
>> Yeah, you're exactly right.
(09:40):
She's kind of limited her
conversations to talking about
tariffs and also her opposition
to President Donald Trump and
his leadership style and use of
executive power. But she hasn't
gotten into the weeds just yet
of, you know, day one
priorities. If she was elected
as a U.S. Senator.
>> And if I had to guess, I
would say that she because
she's she's sort of presenting
herself as a common sense
(10:01):
Democrat, which is why I think
we saw that pared down video
from her. I think she's going
to try and stick to these sort
of meat and potato issues,
especially as the other people,
Republicans certainly, you know,
this is she's in the Democratic
primary, but if she wins the
Democratic primary, the other
Republicans right now are all
sort of vying for Trump's
support. There's a lot of focus
on social wedge issues. And,
(10:22):
you know, in 2020, when she ran
against Mitch McConnell, her
campaign had a lot of momentum.
She raised, what, almost $100
million historic amount. She
still lost by 20 percentage
points. Obviously, Trump has
won again in Kentucky since
then, but his popularity has
fallen to. And so she's trying
to appeal to this voter of
(10:43):
maybe I voted for Trump, but
I'm dissatisfied with him and
you can count on me to bring
common sense.
>> It's interesting, though,
when I did ask her, do you see
yourself as more of a moderate
or progressive Democrat in
today's climate? She wouldn't
answer that question. I believe
she had told other outlets
she's a common sense Democrat.
Like, where have we heard that
before? I mean, it was
impossible for me to ignore
(11:04):
interviewing her how much she
sort of had a similar message.
From what we've heard from the
governor recently, Governor
Beshear. And that's at least in
this line about the tariffs.
You know, she says voters
didn't think when they were
voting for President Trump that
they'd be voting for higher
prices. They thought they were
voting for lower prices. Her
words, of course, we've heard
(11:24):
the governor say that a lot. By
the way, I did ask her what her
number one policy priority
would be if elected. And she
did say repealing tariffs.
>> Well, Mario, you and I
interviewed McGrath as well
about her announcement. At one
of the questions I asked her
was, how do you win in Kentucky?
By criticizing President Trump,
who carried the state by 30
points. And and she said to
Alex's point, she says that
(11:45):
voters are not getting what
they voted for.
>> Yeah, that's right. That's
why she, again, is again
transitioning her message to
talk about some of these
national issues, the current
day of events that's going on.
She's doing a lot of commentary
on the Department of Defense
and the restructuring there.
That's from Pete Hegseth, the
secretary. With her military
experience, she can be able to
speak towards that. She's
(12:06):
hoping that that message will
resonate with voters and
hopefully, you know, have her
have them join her campaign and
support.
>> It was interesting. She gave
credit to the Democratic field
in your interview about that,
about the Democratic candidates
having a military or law
enforcement service.
>> Me about the primary on both
sides is that on the Democratic
(12:27):
side, all of the candidates
have served their country. All
of the candidates come from,
you know, Secret Service, CIA,
United States Air Force, United
States Marine Corps, and all
the candidates on the other
side have served themselves and
have served, you know, in this
political arena their whole
(12:48):
lives.
>> Mario McGrath in 2020 had to
outlast Charles Booker in the
primary. And that was a tough
primary. But this time it has,
as I said to her, you allowed
it to get crowded.
>> That's right. And again the
the filing deadline still until
January the 1st Friday in
January. So plenty of time for
some other people to step up.
(13:10):
But yes, she's very supportive
of of Pamela Stephenson, who
first declared her intent for
this race, but also Logan
Forsythe and Joel Willett there,
the three other candidates that
have jumped into this race
before her, and they've got
varied experience in the
military, and she's remaining
positive to her primary
candidates as of today.
>> History and math favor
(13:30):
Republicans in the race. No
Democrat has won a Kentucky
U.S. Senate race since Wendell
Ford's last victory in 1992,
and Republican registration is
also gaining while Democrats
are losing ground. We will
point out the fastest growing
segment is actually independent,
but the GOP is gaining ahead of
the 2026 primary. Isaiah, do
you read anything when you see
(13:52):
those numbers with the
registration right now?
>> Well, I think the results
have sort of shown itself, Bill.
I mean, we've seen Republicans
get elected across the board.
They certainly see this Senate
race as a bit of a shoo in for
Republicans. They probably see
the May primary as the general
election, essentially. But like
you mentioned, I mean,
(14:12):
independents are growing, and
there is no doubt that folks on
both sides are making sure that
they don't alienate the
independent vote, despite the
fact that Kentucky has been so
ruby red recently.
>> And I'll add to, you know,
the May primary independents
can't vote in that primary. So
that 11% electorate there, but
both sides will have to cater
to their current bases. And it
makes it more difficult because
(14:33):
Kentucky is known for having
low voter turnout during a
primary in May. And we've
talked about if there's bad
weather that could impact it as
well.
>> But 11 points can sure throw
a general election, right?
>> I just wonder too, like when
there you have similar
backgrounds, right? We talk
about the Republicans all sort
of, you know, talking about
Donald Trump so much. It's hard
to distinguish yourself when
(14:53):
you have so many Democrats who
all sort of have this law
enforcement serving your
country background. If you're
in a primary, how do you
distinguish yourself that way?
I mean, that could be a real
challenge.
>> We always watch the money
chase at this point, and some
of those reports have come in
now. Specifically for the
Senate.
>> In the Senate, and I believe
we were talking about this
(15:14):
before the show. Congressman
Andy Barr, not a complete
surprise because he's a sitting
member in Congress, but $1.8
million in this last
fundraising quarter. We know
that both the Cameron campaign
and the Morris campaign have
not released those numbers as
of yet, but clearly pretty
notable on Barr's side.
>> Yeah. And Andy Barr, he's
(15:34):
his team is very confident in
their standing. So they put it
out quickly to let people know
across the state that they are
having no trouble raising money
in three months. And the other
two candidates, they are
keeping quiet until it's
officially posted.
>> Nate Morris's folks did say,
though, that they would let me
know next week about some of
their numbers. So we'll look
out for those.
>> And because Barr is running
for the Senate, he's leaving
(15:55):
the sixth district seat open.
Republican Ralph Alvarado
amassing a war chest that seems
to be outpacing the others
early on.
>> Believe the numbers at
380,000 for him. And then, of
course, we're seeing Zach Dembo
on the other side. The former
federal prosecutor on for the
Democrats, I believe. What is
that at 290,000. So those are
the biggest numbers we've seen
(16:16):
as far as the sixth district to
this point, at least in the
last quarter.
>> Yeah. And pretty large
numbers for congressional race.
You typically don't see that in
a three month period. That
could be sometimes what they
get over the course of the
primary campaign.
>> So and they got in July.
>> They got in in July. So and
and then the front loader
proceed front leaning candidate
Sherrilyn Stevenson, she had
some good numbers the first
(16:36):
quarter. But we'll see what
she's been able to raise the
last three months.
>> All right. And then you
remind yourselves that some of
the candidates can self-fund,
you know. And so we'll watch
watch that as well. All right.
Governor Beshear happened to be
in New Hampshire this week,
which happens to be one of the
first Democratic presidential
primary states of 2028. Alex
Beshear has also been to South
(16:57):
Carolina. And he tells voters
in places like that that he's
there to help Democrats.
>> He is the incoming chair of
the Democratic Governors
Association. So his role in
that is to help Democrats win
in these statewide seats all
over the country. Now, he
hasn't confirmed this. Yes. But
yet. But traveling around the
(17:17):
country can also serve the dual
purpose of getting your name
and face out there, too. If you
have a plan to run for higher
office, which we don't know yet
if he does, but it sort of dual
purpose. But yes, he is
traveling and sort of making
the rounds and also continuing
to be governor of Kentucky to
kind of have a foot in both.
>> There was a trip out of
(17:38):
state, out going to Europe on a
business trip next week.
>> London, Dublin, Paris. I
mean, he left his team,
Kentucky, basically being like,
see you in two weeks. He'll
have a lot of good news when I
get back on the New Hampshire
front. I mean, he's he's been
there recently. Before he's had
sort of impacts or has tried to
through his end this together
pack on I believe it was their
(17:59):
last gubernatorial election, if
I'm not mistaken, in New
Hampshire. And it's very likely
he'll be back. We know that
he's sort of trying to share
his vision for the future. He
actually will be in Nebraska
less than a month from now,
side by side with the former
president, Joe Biden, who we
have not seen a lot of since he
left office.
>> Yeah, so should be
(18:20):
interesting with both former
President Biden and Governor
Andy Beshear side by side on
the promotional materials. So
that's telling in itself. And
again, ultimately, they're
raising money for the local
Democrats in Nebraska. And and
Beshear having a hand in that.
>> And Alex Beshear then
returned to Kentucky and
returned to his push for
universal pre-K this week. Does
(18:41):
he have to keep a visible
agenda in state as well,
especially in the run up to the
legislative session, to be
relevant here while he explores
things elsewhere?
>> Right. Obviously he cannot
run for governor again, but you
don't want to completely
abandon your state either. And
so, yes, his through line
through his whole time in
office has been universal pre-K.
(19:02):
And this is maybe reading the
tea leaves too much. But, you
know, Lieutenant Governor
Jacqueline Coleman has also
been a major proponent of
universal pre-K. Potentially
she could run for governor, too,
and he could sort of be setting
her up to sort of keep pushing
this idea out there. Now,
obviously, he's never gotten
the funding for universal pre-K.
Senate President Robert Stivers,
a Republican, is a known critic
(19:22):
of universal pre-K, but he's
still trying to make it known
that this thing matters to him
in Kentucky, and he wants to
see it done.
>> Mario, you talked to some
folks about childcare issues,
another issue percolating ahead
of the of the 2026 session.
>> That's right. Several
interviews, including with the
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce,
who advocates for the business
(19:43):
community across the state. And
they are advocating pretty
strongly, saying that this
coming session, childcare,
they're wanting to help address
some of the gaps across our
state. It's well documented
that access to childcare is not
viable for every Kentuckian,
and they actually are sharing
that. They want to say it's not
just a family issue, it's a
workforce and growth strategy
(20:03):
for Kentucky's economy. So
since they've got a very strong
sway with a lot of legislators,
you can anticipate that being a
top priority or item for some
of the lawmakers.
>> AI got a lot of discussion
this week as well. And then
State Representative Vanessa
Grosso of the Lexington area
wants to draft legislation for
the session that would say that
school districts cannot employ
(20:24):
third party lobbyists. It got
her attention that Fayette
County hired lobbyists to
represent its interests in
Frankfort.
>> And she says that she plans
to file this bill pretty
quickly once the session starts.
And she again, it's based off
of Fayette County Public
Schools and the issues that
they've had over the last
several months with
transparency. But there's been
talks that Fayette County,
(20:44):
they've invested a firm that
works on PR and kind of
management of the image of the
district, and she feels that
that's not a good idea, using
taxpayer dollars to have a
third party lobbyist group to
be a part of that process.
>> The federal government
shutdown continues. We're
seeing more impacts, certainly
more concerns in Kentucky. Many
federal employees are working
(21:05):
without a paycheck at this
point. Isaiah, that a difficult
circumstance, certainly.
>> And I think we'll we'll
watch to see how the airline
travel changes as we go on. I
would say the big issue right
now, especially from some
Republicans, I heard from
Congressman Brett Guthrie being
one, are these next paychecks
for members of the military?
(21:25):
Specifically? He mentioned Fort
Knox, which is in his district,
an Army installation where he
says they are due to be paid or
were due to be paid October
15th. That's coming up. If the
government doesn't open before
then, they'll be without that
money, which he says will be
very rough for them.
>> The Louisville political
scene seems to be buzzing right
now, certainly ahead of the
(21:46):
filing deadline. The first ever
nonpartisan mayor's race is
coming, and you're hearing some
things there.
>> Yeah. Charles Booker is a
name that keeps being thrown
around. Nobody's denying that
he could potentially be
interested in that. He's sort
of feeling out where he would
get his his fundraising dollars
from. But, I mean, the mayor
sort of in full force at this
(22:07):
point. We see him at a lot of
events actively touting what
he's done over the last three
years. And of course, we have
this special election for the
for the Senate bill, of course,
David Yates's district that
will come open his seat because
he is now the acting Jefferson
County clerk after the passing
of Bobbie Holsclaw, the
Secretary of State, Michael
Adams just announced that will
(22:28):
be on December 16th. And I'm
already hearing names on both
sides of who could potentially
run. Casa Grande is the name of
an activist in Louisville who I
believe, based on what I'm
hearing, could have some
interest on the Democrat side.
And then State Representative
Jared Bauman of Louisville
potentially could have interest
on the Republican side. Of
course, he has been very active
in this sort of tough on crime
(22:49):
mentality with the safer
Kentucky Act.
>> Attorney General Russell
Coleman announced this week
that he is suing the online
gaming platform Roblox. He
called it an online environment
where child predators thrive.
>> Like many parents, I thought
Roblox is a safe choice, but I
came to realize later than I
would like to admit that it
actually is the wild west of
(23:10):
the internet targeted at
children.
>> Here is my message to
parents. Get your kids off
Roblox. Do it today.
>> Alex Coleman is adamant that
this platform is trouble for
kids.
>> Yeah, he called it a hunting
ground for child predators.
It's a very popular, I think,
(23:31):
there. You know, usage number
is in the hundreds of millions.
And I think one of the problems
is that you can essentially
access it, use it without
parental consent if you're a
minor. And so he's trying to
crack down on that by suing it,
essentially saying that he's
alleging that Kentucky's
Consumer Protection Protection
Act fails to warn parents of
(23:53):
the dangers of it. And, of
course, he cited, too, in his
press release. And in that
press conference, you know,
there's a 25 year old man in
Kentucky who pled guilty
earlier this year to plotting
to extort, threaten minors. You
know, across these gaming
entertainment platforms. And
Roblox was one of the ones that
he used. And so this is an easy
(24:14):
way for him to say, we're going
to sue this platform because of
these heinous things, the
potential for child grooming.
And it's a concrete thing that
he can point to to say, I'm
trying to, you know, work on
your behalf as attorney general.
>> Seems to be an area of
emphasis for him, isn't it?
>> Certainly. And especially
issues where you could
literally walk into any like a
Walgreens or CVS and you see
(24:36):
gift cards for Roblox. So this
is something that every family
sees, and that's something that
the attorney general clearly is
focused on.
>> And Roblox, they did issue a
statement saying that they
believe the lawsuit is based on
outdated and out of context
information. So we'll see how
the lawsuit plays out over the
next several months.
>> And I think the attorney
general has said other states
(24:57):
may also file suit. So that is
something you see from time to
time, as well as several states.
Get involved in an issue. Alex,
you're part of a major
announcement this week
involving the Herald-Leader and
ProPublica. What does that mean?
>> ProPublica is a national,
nonprofit, online only news
outlet, and they partner with
local newsrooms a couple every
(25:18):
year so that a reporter or
reporters can work on a bigger
investigation. They wouldn't
have time to work on just in
the daily grind. And so they
chose the Herald-Leader and me
and my colleague Taylor six,
which means we get to work on
investigation for a year on
something in Kentucky. And so
that's very exciting. I'll be
off of my politics beat for a
bit and fully embedded in this
story, which is great.
(25:40):
>> You're saying there will be
one story?
>> No, there'll be multiple.
It'll be a sort of a series. 4
to 6 is the ideal. So there'll
be multiple about the same
topic.
>> Yeah. All right. Well that's
interesting new approach. What
we do want to congratulate
Kentucky's teacher of the year
Michelle Gross is a middle
school teacher in Spencer
County. She teaches math and
(26:00):
also runs a gifted and talented
program, where students get to
pick an area to dig deeper into.
They all enjoy that. Gross has
22 years of teaching experience.
She was among nine educators
honored, and the Education
Commissioner, Robbie Fletcher,
called it a day of celebration.
And on a warm and sunny day,
Keeneland last week got rolling
(26:21):
and they had a big day out
there again today. So as the
weather's good, the horses keep
running, the crowds keep
showing up. That's common on
Kentucky. Have a good week
ahead.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.